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Saturday, 4 May 2013

97) Coins and Banknotes of Turkey:Liras and Kurus

97) Turkish Coins and Banknotes :Liras and
Kurus:

Historical development of the Turkish Lira:

Kurus were introduced for the first time in 1688
as a silver coin equal to the Spanish dollar as a currency in Turkey. (“Kurus” is
a name derived from the German word “Groschen” or Ottoman Turkish “gurus”).

In the 18th
and 19th centuries it had lost much of its value.At the beginning
of the 19th century, silver coins were in circulation for 1
akce, 1, 5, 10 and 20 para and 1, 2, and 2 ½ kurus together with gold coins
designated in “zeri”, “mehbub” and “altin”.

Later denominations
of billon 1, 10 and 20 para and other smaller denominations of kurus were
minted.

In 1844, the
Ottoman Gold Lira became the Standard denomination, sub-divided into 100
kurus which circulated till 1970s, when it became obsolete due to inflation.

The Ottoman Lira
circulated as the currency of the
Ottoman Empire between 1844 and 1923.

It replaced the
kurus as the principal unit of currency, with the kurus continuing to circulate
as a 100th part of the lira.

Meanwhile, the para
continued to be used parallely with 40 paras being a 40th part of a
kuru.

The above is an assorted collection of First Turkish
Lira coins and stamps. This is the best scan image I could manage. The
coin on top is a 1 Lira coin (1988), below it is a 5000 Lira coin (issued in
1998), further below, we can see a partially covered 10 Lira coin, on the right
of that coin is a 25 kuru coin (1969). In the last line one can see a 2 ½ Lira
coin (1971), a 1 Lira coin (1977) and a 50 kuru coin (1974).

The above is another assorted collection ofFirst Turkish Lira coins. In the
top row is a 1 Lira coin (1981). In the second row is a 5 Lira coin (1983),
while in the third row is a 10 Lira coin (1987) and a 25 Lira coin (1985). In
the bottom row is a 1000 Lira coin (1991), a 1 Lira coin (1977), a 50 kuru coin
(1974) and a 25 kuru coin (1966).

From 01.01.2005 Turkey faced with the undernoted problems, decided to drop
the millions from its currence/coinage and reintroduce the Standard
denomination of 1 Turkish Lira to 100 Kurus with the introduction of the new
Lira:

The multiple digits
caused accounting and data processing problems.

Turkey
had faced hyperinflation and the rate of inflation mostly exceeded 30%. The
Turkish Lira had stood devalued to about 1800000 to a USD. (At present, with
the YTL, the hyperinflation has now gone and inflation has been reined in to
around 8-10 %).

So as to avoid
confusion between the First and the Second Turkish Lira issues, the second
Turkish Lira was called the “new Turkish Lira” (YTL) between the period of
transition 1.01.2005 and 31.12. 2008, as both the series of coin issues were in
circulation during this period.

During the period
of transition, it was compulsory for all shopkeepers service providers to
display prices at both the old and new rates.

Also, during the
period of transition, it was compulsory for all shopkeepers to display prices
at both the old and new rates.

The old Turkish
Lira ceased to be legal tender wef 31.12.2005.

Any remaining old Turkish Lira was required to
be converted at either the Turkish Central Bank or T.C. Ziraat Bank branches.

In 2005, new
coins were introduced in the denominations of 1, 5, 10 (all three denominations
had Brass metal composition), 25 (cupro-nickel) and 50 new (“yeni”) kurus and 1
new (“yeni”) Turkish Lira (metal composition: bimetallic).

Importantly, all
these coins carry the portrait of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the
Turkish Republic.

Interestingly, the
coins issued in the 50 “new” kurus and 1 “new” Turkish Lira resembled the
circulating 1 and 2 Euro coins in the Euro Zone in both size and composition
both of which had a higher value than the YTL (“Yeni” Turkish Lira”) coins
leading to confusion among unsuspecting users as well as arbitrage
opportunities to speculators. So much so, that several coin-vending machines in
the Euro zone were accepting 1 YTL coins as 2 Euro coins, which had a value
more than 4 times the YTL. As such, several coin vending machines in the Euro
Zone had to be upgraded so as stop this.

c)The Third Turkish
Lira( 2009 onwards):

From 01.01.2009,
the term “new” (“yeni”) was dropped from the second Turkish Lira coins being
minted, as it was assumed that sufficient time had passed for users to
familiarize themselves with the coins issued under the second Turkish Lira.

The following denominations
of coins are presently being issued and are in circulation in Turkey:

The reverse of all these coins has
the inscription “TURKIYE CHUMHURIYETI” and has a portrait of Mustafa Kemal
Ataturk.

One Kuru:

The obverse of the one (1) Kuru coin
shows the denomination of the coin, the “Crescent and Star” emblem of Turkey, a
“snow-drop” and the year of minting.

The obverse of the five kurus coin
shows the denomination of the coin “5” in a circle, the “Crescent and Star”
emblem of Turkey on the top of the inner Circle, the “Tree of Life motif” on
the right of the numerical denomination of the coin and the year of minting
2010 on the bottom periphery.

(In Turkey, the “Tree of Life” is a wide-spread
motif, used in carpets, kilims, scarves, coloured tiles in palaces, textiles
etc. The trees represented are mostly beech, oak and cypress. There are many
legends in Turkey on the Tree of Life and it is associated with fertility. One
legend goes thus: one night a heavenly light shown upon an evergreen tree, and
nine months later the Ughurs found five babies under the tree. One of the
babies Bogu Han grew up to be one of the mightiest rulers of the Ughurs).

The obverse of the ten kurus coin
shows the denomination of the coin “10” within a circular design, the “Crescent
and Star” emblem of Turkey on the top periphery, the “Rumi motif” in the
background of the numeral “10” and the year of minting “2009”, “2010” and
“2011” on the bottom periphery. (The “Rumi” is one of the leading motifs of the
Turkish decorative Arts, i.e. in tile work, clothing, wood carving etc. The
earliest example of the Rumi Motif is depicted on the wing of a sea-monster
represented on the ornamental frescoes made in the 9th centuries by
Uygur Turks).

The obverse of the twenty five kurus
coin shows the denomination of the coin “25” in a square, the “Crescent and
Star” emblem of Turkey on the top periphery, the “Kufic calligraphic”” forming
the enclosed square around the numeral “25” and the year of minting “2011” on
the bottom periphery.

The obverse of the fifty kurus coin
shows the denomination of the coin “50” in a circle, the “Crescent and Star”
emblem of Turkey on the top periphery, the “Bosphorus Bridge and Istanbul
silhouette” in the background of the numeral
“50” and the year of minting “2009” and “2010” on the bottom periphery.

The obverse of the one (1) Turkish
Lira coin (100 Kurus) coin shows the denomination of the coin “1” (Turkish
Lira) in the centre, the “Crescent and Star” emblem of Turkey on the top
periphery, , the “Rumi motif” in the background of the numeral “1” and the year
of minting “2009”, “2010” and “2011” on the bottom periphery.

Interestingly, 1
Turkish Lira has been issued in both coins and banknotes.

In 1926, the
Ministry of Finance introduced Banknotes for the Republic of Turkey in the
denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, 1000 Turkish Lira. Each denomination
portrayed Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. This was the last time that French was
used on the banknotes along with the Turkish language.

Between 1937 and
1939, new notes were introduced with
Turkish texts in the Latin alphabet with the portrait of the then President
Ismet Inonu.

In the early 1950s,
Ataturk’s portrait again came back on the Turkish Banknotes.

The Front of a Fifty Thousand Turk Lirasi Banknote showing the date of issue as 1970.

The Back of the above Fifty Thousand Turk Lirasi Banknote.

Till date “Nine Series” of Banknotes have
been issued termed as the “Nine
Emissions”:

The recent
emissions are the Eighth (E8) issued during the transitional period 01.01.2005
to 31.12.2008 and Ninth Emission (E1) Banknotes issued from 01.01.2009 onwards.
Banknotes of the E-8 Emmission or E-8 Group were withdrawn from circulation on
31.12.2009, but can be redeemed at branches of the Central Bank until
31.12.2019.

New (“Yeni”)
Turkish Lira Banknotes (YTL Notes) (E 8) “Emission 8”:

The new TL note designs
are very similar to the old Lira designs. The main difference is the reduction
in the number of zeros in the New Turkish Lira Banknotes. To avoid confusion,
the banknotes denominations had similar designs and colours as the previous
ones.

Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic
still features on all the notes and the pictures on the back remain the same.

The Back of the 100 New Turkish Lira (YTL – “Yuz Yeni Turk Lirasi”) banknote
(which would have been equivalent to 100 million old Turkish Lira – TRL although
this denomination banknote was not issued) depicts a picture of “Ishak Pasa
Palace” near Dogubayazit in Far Eastern Turkey.

The Back of the 50 New Turkish Lira (YTL – “Elli Yeni Turk Lirasi”) banknote
(which would have been equivalent fifty million Old Turkish Lira – TRL,
although this denomination banknote was not issued) depicts a picture from
“Cappadocia”, Central Turkey.

The Back of the 20 New Turkish Lira (YTL – “Yirmi Yeni Turk Lirasi”)
banknote (which replaced the 20 million Old Turkish Lira (TRL – “Yirmi Milyon
Turk Lirasi”) depicts the ruins of Ephesus in Western Turkey.

The 10, 5 and 1 New
Turkish Kurus (Y Kr) were equivalent to the old 100000, 50000 and 10000 old
Lira (not in circulation).

Banknotes of the “present Series” or the “Ninth
Emission” (E9):

On the Front all
the Notes in this Series as in most of the Series/Emissions before it features
the portrait of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. The main focus of the E9 Series is on
highlighting great Turkish personalities, instead of geographical, cultural or
architectural themes.

On the Back, the 5 Lira (Lirasi) Banknotes show
“Ord. Prof. Dr. Aydin Sayili”, diagrams of solar system, an atom, an ancient
cave and a left handed Z-DNA helix. 5 Lira Banknotes are brown in colour. The
size of the Note is 130 mm x 64 mm.

Brief Note on Ord. Prof. Aydin Sayili (1913
– 1993):

Ord. Prof. Aydin
Sayili as interested in many areas of Science history, mainly the history of
Astronomy and conducted unique studies in this field. He published his
masterpiece “Observatory in Islam and its General Place in the History of the
Observatory”.

Dr. Sayili put
forth the contribution of the Turks, the Islamic World, the Mesopotamians and
other civilizations to science and the formation of Western civilization.

More than 140
works/books/papers are attributed to him written in Turkish, English, Arabic
and Persian.

On the Back, the 10 Lira (Lirasi) Banknotes show
“Ord.Prof. Dr.Cahit Arf (1910-1997)”, the Arf Invariant, Arithmetic Series, an
Abacus, and a Binary. 10 Lira Banknotes are red in colour. The size of the Note
is 136 mm x 64 mm.

Brief Note on Ord. Dr.Cahit Arf (1910 –
1997):

Ord. Dr. Cahit Arf
was a world renowned Turkish mathematician famous for his theorems which are
named after him.

Ord. Dr. Cahit Arf
made significant contributions to Mathematics with his works in numerous fields
like Algebra, Number theory, Elasticity theory, Analysis, Geometry and
Engineering Mathematics and had more than 20 original works to his credit. He
acquired a world-wide reputation with his achievements in Algebra and for his
studies on solving synthetic geometry problems with the help of a ruler and
compass.

He ranks among
prominent Mathematicians with his studies such as “Arf Invariant” of quadratic
form, “Arf Rings” and “ARF Closure”. In addition to these he also introduced
the “Hasse – Arf Theorem” to Mathematic literature.

He won several
International recognitions.

On the Back, the 20 Lira (Lirasi) Banknotes show
“Architect Kemaleddin”, Gazi University main building, an Aqueduct, a circular
motif and a cube-globe-cylinder symbolizing architecture. The 20 Lira Banknotes
are green in colour. The size of the Note is 142 mm x 68 mm.

Brief Note on Architect Kemaleddin (1870 –
1927):

Architect
Kemaleddin was one of the pioneers of the National Architecture trend and was
inspired by the Ottoman and Islamic Architecture blending it with German
Architectural styles as well as his own new styles. He developed his own style
and vision on National Architecture. He developed his own style and vision on
National Architecture.

He worked on the
restoration of historical buildings and the design of new buildings.

He successfully carried out the reparation of
the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Architectural elements included in his style
are – Arches, Eaves and China tilting on the facades of buildings, highlighted
symmetry and traditional styles with tower-like protrusions and cornices placed
on facades.

On the Back, the 50 Lira Banknotes show
“Fatma Aliye Topuz”, a flower and literary figures. The 50 Lira Banknotes are
orange in colour. The size of the Note is 148 mm x 68 mm.

Brief Note on Fatma Aliye (1862 – 1936):

Fatma Aliye was the
first Turkish female philosopher and also one of the first female novelists of
Turkish Literature. She started her career in 1889 under the pseudonym “Bir
Hanin” (a lady) when she translated “Volonte” by George Ohnet into Turkish
under the title “Meram”. Later, she took the pseudonym “Mutercime – I Meram”
(“The female translator”) in her later works on philosophy, biography and
literature. Her first novel “Muhadarat” (1892) had emotional themes.

She lived during
the Tanzimat period and defended women’s rights during her time writing on
subjects such as a women’s place in society, family, marriage and importance of
women’s education. Towards this end, she established “Sevkat – I Nisvan
Dernegi” (“Women’s Care Association”).

She was also a poet
and her poems characterized themes such as patriotism, women’s rights and
criticism for the admiration of the Western culture.

Some of the novels
attributed to her include “Hayal ve Hakikat” (“Dream and Truth”), “Muhadarat”,
“Ref’et”, “Udi” (the “Lute player”), “Enin”, “Ahmed Cevdet Pasa ve Zamani”
(“Ahmed Cevdet Pasha and his time”). She also wrote a book on philosophy
“Teracim – I Felasife”.

On the Back, the 100 Lira Banknotes
show “Buhurizade Mustafa Efendi (Itri)”, notes, instruments and Mevlevi figure.
The 100 Lira Banknotes are blue in colour. The size of the Note is 154 mm x 72
mm.

Brief Note on “Buhurizade Mustafa Efendi (Itri)
(1640 – 1712):

Buhurizade Mustafa
Efendi (known as “Itri”) was the founder of Turkish classical music during the
time of Mehmet IV and performed in “fasils’ (concerts). Along with Abdulkadir
Meragi (1353 – 1435) and Hammamizade Ismail Dede Efendi (1778 – 1846), he is
considered to be one of the three most important composers who guided the
development of Turkish music.

Although his
compositions available in musical notes known today are about 42, at least 1000
pieces of music are attributed to him.

His approach to and
interpretation of religious music reflected a novel style. “Segah Kurban
Bayrami Tekbiri” performed by the whole congregation during the performance of
ritual prayers on the first days of religious festivals; “Segah Salat – i
Ummiye” performed during the visits to relics; “Segah Ayin – i”,
“Serif – I”, Mevlevi, “Nuhuft Pesrevi”, Beyati Beste”, “Mahur Beste”,
“Segah Yuruk Semai Maye Cum’a Salati” and Dilkes – Haveran Gece Salasi” are
some of his famous works.

He also had an
interest in poetry and calligraphy. He studied a type of calligraphy called
“Talik” and created aesthetic works and also became well known in this field.
Itri wrote several poems, enough to make a “Divan’ (meaning – a “collection of
poems or verses”).

On the Back, the 200 Lira Banknotes
show “Yunus Emre”, Yunus’s mausoleum, a rose, a pigeon and the verse “Sevelim
sevilelim” (meaning – “Let us love, let us be loved”). The 200 Lira Banknotes
are Violet in colour. The size of the Note is 160 mm x 72 mm.

Brief Note on Yunus Emre (1238 – 1320):

Yunus Emre was a
pioneer on mysticism in Anatolia and in Turkish poetry. He developed a
religious belief called “Vahdet – i Vucud” (or “Unity of Existence”) which
internalizes the essence of the Koran and attempts to explain the secrets of
the “one and only creator”. Some verses of Yunus Emre reveal the influence of
Mevlana Celalettin Rumi, who died in 1273.

Nearly all the
concepts like ethics, religion and love embraced by mysticism are found in
Emre’s verse.

Emre believed that
becoming a dervish was to become mature in a mystical train of thought and that
this is being in a constant state of love and acceptance by God as well as
controlling the Will and overpowering it, opposing fighting, evil thinking,
showing off, enmity and formalism. He emphasized that everyone deserved to be
loved irrespective of differences in religion, sect, race, nationality,
position and colour.

Two of his
well-known works are “Risalet – un Nushiyye” (a mystic, morally related and
religious work written as a “mesnevi” or rhyming couplets with prosodic metres
and “Divan” (meaning a “collection of poems or verses” compiled 70 years after
his death). UNESCO dedicated 1991 to Yunus Emre as “The International Yunus
Emre Year”.

(The above coins and Banknotes are from the collection of Ajit George. The old Lira Banknotes including the 5 Turk lirasi Banknote bearing prefix number 386 are from the collection of Jayant Biswas. Scanning of Coins and Banknotes done and Article researched and written by Rajeev Prasad)

2 comments:

Hi Rajeev, well documented post. The level of detail and brevity is well balanced in all posts on this blog.

I had not realized the fact that 'all' coins in the 2005 series has portraits of Ataturk as there are four different portraits and I had thought these belonged to different people. There is also an interesting fact regarding transition from old to new coins as well. The same coin designs and sizes for the 1, 5, 10 and 25 kuru coins as were released in 2005 were also released in 2003 with values in old currency viz, 10,000 lira, 50,000 lira, 100,000 lira and 250,000 lira. I would guess these too would have co-circulated with the new coins until withdrawn in 2009.

About Me

I am Rajeev Prasad, a retired State Bank of India officer who had been collecting coins in a shoe box without having a serious interest. Only after quitting my job I got the time to take serious interest in developing my coin collection into a hobby. A pity, because I would have had more opportunity to lay my hands on more 'exclusive coins' while in the Bank. Anyway, as they say,better late than never. If you have any views to share with me regarding this blog , please contact me on my email rajeevprasad1208@gmail.com. I also have a twitter account @prasad_rajeev.
I had an opportunity to participate in a Documentary on the life and times of the 25 paise coin titled “Chal Basi Chavanni” (The four anna/twenty five paise coin passes away), aired by STAR NEWS on 29th and 30th June 2011. The programme helped in making many persons hold back onto their “chavannis”, the little round beauties, instead of returning them to Banks .